Etikettarkiv: autumnal equinox

Our contemporary world is becoming more and more like a machine whose gear spins faster for each passing year and for every technological innovation that is realized. We humans have never had as many choices as we do now and we can perform a tremendous number of more actions and tasks at one and the same time. One of the major breakthroughs of our time has been the Internet and its subsequent applications. Never has it been so easy to share information, communicate with people on the other side of the globe, play games together or share ones day via, for example, twitter, Instagram or Facebook (or why not all three ?!). Of course, this is no breaking news, it is not even something that only applies to our time.

Man has always strived for progression, to find effective solutions, sometimes for something that will advance our time here on earth and sometimes for something that could have been too easily abused. Social media is especially easy to abuse. Our fantastic information technology has a downside, a darker outcome so to say. Many chase the “likes” on Facebook like the poor chase bread for the day. Many try to make an income through a blog or instagram while others buy ”traffic” into their account to attract advertisers. Ultimately, technology has in many cases been reduced to dealing with money and (which is much worse) to feed the deep need for confirmation that exists in so many of us.

So what does our misuse of IT have to do with Autumnal Equinox? In the name of truth, not very much at all. In contrast, autumn is characterized by the fact that it is getting darker, the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer. The temperature drops and the nature around us prepares for a long sleep. The oak tree outside the window lets its liquid retreat to stem and root so as not to freeze to ice, the leaves fall yellowish to the ground. Some animal species are preparing to enter the hibernation den, while our neighbor rakes their lawn free of all leaves. The whole world seems to be slowing down. All this is a natural effect of the season’s arrival.

In the past, before social media, it was easier for us humans to follow the course of nature. We stored our harvest, our food and we waited for our winter apples to be ripe enough to eat. We spent time at home with each other, drank hot chocolate, played party games, lit a fire. It was a time when it was easy to engage with and commit to one thing at a time, along with the people you love and without feeling the need (or coercion) of sharing and comparing it in social media. We had greater prerequisites for being able to live in the present, with our mind in the same place as our body. We humans seem to have reached a point where we no longer follow the course of nature or the seasons. We hardly follow our own inner voice. This voice of our Higher Self who is within us all and who quietly whispers his wisdom. A wisdom for deaf ears is seems, as we are fully occupied with letting our mouths speak, our fingers write and our eyes to see if we have got any likes on what we want to convey. Likewise, we seem to sustain a need to compete with our fellow humans about who said what, said it first and who got the most likes. We are divided in body and mind, and even in our actions.

This behavior, this abuse of confirmation (for whatever reason) has also spread to the occult world. Never has it been shared as much information from covens, secret orders, solitaire magicians and the likes. A small part of this information is useful, but for the greater part this has been shown to have a high risk of destructiveness between people but also for their own person. People are arguing as if there was no tomorrow and many are applying the technique of ‘Whoever yells loudly and first is right’. Never have there ever been so many people claiming to follow the right path, have the right traditional descent, have attained the right divine contact ad infinitum. Perhaps some of these people have found something that enriches their lives, some may even have reached a certain stage of spiritual development. Nevertheless, there is also those who believe that all information and knowledge should be free to be shared for all who has eyes to see, regardless if the information has been confirmed to the true or not. Not infrequently (although there are exceptions) these people would like to tell you that THEY, their website, their posts have something important to share and they are the first to do so too! These people usually care less about what information they share, the important thing is that they are the ones who share it. They care more about being recognized in their field, getting their confirmation needs satisfied than what effects their information has on the recipient.

In the contemporary occult arena, everyone seems to be full of accumulated knowledge but lacks the wisdom and ability to show consideration. The wisdom to realize when, where and to whom one should share their information with, but above all to be considerate and clear-minded enough to know when one should not share one’s knowledge.

Let us have the courage to take a step back this Autumnal Equinox. Consider nature and how it behaves during the season and take inspiration from it. Let us calm our hands, rest our weary voice, let our eyes dwell on the colors of autumn instead of an instagram flow. Let us again apply the Hermetic principle of silence and learn to listen again.